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I'm unsure of the long term potential of hemp seeds. I don't think the genetics have been optimized for growing seeds yet. Most people breed for CBD, THC, and s

I'm unsure of the long term potential of hemp seeds. I don't think the genetics have been optimized for growing seeds yet. Most people breed for CBD, THC, and specific terpene profiles. The higher volume, lower margin goods like seed and fiber have been relatively unexplored by the market.

bitxbitxbitcoin 7y ago
Good point - I can only imagine that there is a lot of optimization possible for seeds if cannabis becomes used as a food source. I'd argue that the genetics of cannabis/hemp for use as fiber have been relatively more explored than seeds by selective breeding of Cannabis Sativa during the milleniums in some cultures when hemp fiber was the fiber of choice.[0] [0] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201105/history-cannabis-in-ancient-china https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201...
- dumbfoundded 7y ago
  I believe fiber and seeds were the original uses of the plant. Psychoactive properties weren't discovered until much later. As for genetics, the tools we have now are so much better for breeding than even 25 years ago. For example, cannabis in the 90s was ~5% THC. Now it's easy to find strains over 30%. Similarly, CBD flower and CBG flower didn't exist even 5 years ago and now we have 20% CBD flower strains. I'm sure people are working on genetics similarly for seed production and fiber but the money isn't there yet. Entire supply chains have to be built to support the industry. It's not just the farmers and genetics. There's processing equipment on multiple levels required as well as consumer markets that have to be established.
  - thatcat 7y ago
    What tools are you talking about? I thought that was due to many iterations of selection for specific traits.
    - dumbfoundded 7y ago
      Certain types of large manufacturing equipment must be built in a crop-specific way or at least benefit significantly by being designed for a particular crop. For example, all cannabis flower (non-extracted) is harvested by hand and then trimmed by hand. Recently machines were made to trim large amounts of cannabis efficiently with high quality. It used to take one person at least an hour to trim a pound of weed. Now a machine can do 10lbs a minute. Throughout the supply-chain, there are machines that must be built to support the physical scale. This isn't unique to cannabis, vaping had the same problem. The cartridges used to all be filled by hand until someone invested in the machinery. That what causes standards and grades to be created. None of that really exists in cannabis/hemp right now.
  - econcon 7y ago
    >Psychoactive properties weren't discovered until much later. It's known for atleast 5000years.

bitxbitxbitcoin 7y ago

Good point - I can only imagine that there is a lot of optimization possible for seeds if cannabis becomes used as a food source. I'd argue that the genetics of cannabis/hemp for use as fiber have been relatively more explored than seeds by selective breeding of Cannabis Sativa during the milleniums in some cultures when hemp fiber was the fiber of choice.[0] [0] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201105/history-cannabis-in-ancient-china https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-teenage-mind/201...

dumbfoundded 7y ago
I believe fiber and seeds were the original uses of the plant. Psychoactive properties weren't discovered until much later. As for genetics, the tools we have now are so much better for breeding than even 25 years ago. For example, cannabis in the 90s was ~5% THC. Now it's easy to find strains over 30%. Similarly, CBD flower and CBG flower didn't exist even 5 years ago and now we have 20% CBD flower strains. I'm sure people are working on genetics similarly for seed production and fiber but the money isn't there yet. Entire supply chains have to be built to support the industry. It's not just the farmers and genetics. There's processing equipment on multiple levels required as well as consumer markets that have to be established.
- thatcat 7y ago
  What tools are you talking about? I thought that was due to many iterations of selection for specific traits.
  - dumbfoundded 7y ago
    Certain types of large manufacturing equipment must be built in a crop-specific way or at least benefit significantly by being designed for a particular crop. For example, all cannabis flower (non-extracted) is harvested by hand and then trimmed by hand. Recently machines were made to trim large amounts of cannabis efficiently with high quality. It used to take one person at least an hour to trim a pound of weed. Now a machine can do 10lbs a minute. Throughout the supply-chain, there are machines that must be built to support the physical scale. This isn't unique to cannabis, vaping had the same problem. The cartridges used to all be filled by hand until someone invested in the machinery. That what causes standards and grades to be created. None of that really exists in cannabis/hemp right now.
- econcon 7y ago
  >Psychoactive properties weren't discovered until much later. It's known for atleast 5000years.